System and method for verifying an attribute in records for procurement application

ABSTRACT

A system and associated method for verifying an attribute in records for a procurement application. The procurement application employs a database having a company profile record, a user profile record, and a requisition object record, among which share a company_code attribute as a target attribute that is desired to be valid. The company profile record has a validity attribute, and the requisition object record has a validity flag, to indicate validities of the value for the target attribute in respective record. A company profile configuration module configures the company profile record. A user profile verification module prohibits a user without a valid user profile from accessing the procurement application. A user profile cleanup program removes invalid user profile records from the database. A requisition object verification module checks out valid values for the company_code attribute from the company profile records and blocks modification to invalid requisition objects.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses a system and associated method forenhancing functionality of an existing software application withoutredesigning the existing software application, especially in a case of aprocurement application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional procurement applications are massive in scale and mustoperate with frequently updated data. Due to the nature of a procurementapplication, some attributes of data must be valid to justify an accessto the procurement application. However, such crucial attributes may bedeveloped only after the procurement application is designed anddeployed. In such a case, the whole procurement application must beredesigned to support verification of the attribute. Redesigning aprocurement application upon each emerging need for verifying a newattribute demands a lot of time and is very costly.

Thus, there is a need for a system and associated method that overcomesat least one of the preceding disadvantages of current methods andsystems for verifying a new attribute in a procurement application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method for verifying a target attributeof a company profile record for a procurement application, wherein theprocurement application supports a requisition transaction among atleast two users who represent respective companies, the methodcomprising:

configuring a validity attribute of the company profile record toindicate whether the target attribute of the company profile record isvalid, wherein the company profile record is stored in a database,wherein said configuring is performed by a company profile configurationmodule;

subsequent to said configuring, authenticating a user prior to loggingin the user to the procurement application, wherein the user isrepresented by a user profile record stored in the database, wherein theuser profile record comprises the target attribute with a valid instancefor the target attribute, wherein the user profile record comprising aninvalid instance for the target attribute is targeted to be removed fromthe database later by a user profile cleanup program, wherein saidauthenticating is performed by a user profile verification module; and

subsequent to said authenticating, verifying a requisition objectagainst the company profile record for a value of the target attributeof the requisition object that the user attempts to modify andsubsequently prohibiting the user from modifying the requisition objectdetermined to be invalid from said verifying, wherein the requisitionobject is represented by a requisition object record stored in thedatabase, wherein the requisition object record comprises the targetattribute and a validity flag, wherein said verifying is performed by arequisition object verification module.

The present invention provides a computer program product, comprising acomputer usable storage medium having a computer readable program codeembodied therein, said computer readable program code containinginstructions that when executed by a processor of a computer systemimplement a method for verifying a target attribute of a company profilerecord for a procurement application, wherein the procurementapplication supports a requisition transaction among at least two userswho represent respective companies, the method comprising:

configuring a validity attribute of the company profile record toindicate whether the target attribute of the company profile record isvalid, wherein the company profile record is stored in a database,wherein said configuring is performed by a company profile configurationmodule;

subsequent to said configuring, authenticating a user prior to loggingin the user to the procurement application, wherein the user isrepresented by a user profile record stored in the database, wherein theuser profile record comprises the target attribute with a valid instancefor the target attribute, wherein the user profile record comprising aninvalid instance for the target attribute is targeted to be removed fromthe database later by a user profile cleanup program, wherein saidauthenticating is performed by a user profile verification module; and

subsequent to said authenticating, verifying a requisition objectagainst the company profile record for a value of the target attributeof the requisition object that the user attempts to modify andsubsequently prohibiting the user from modifying the requisition objectdetermined to be invalid from said verifying, wherein the requisitionobject is represented by a requisition object record stored in thedatabase, wherein the requisition object record comprises the targetattribute and a validity flag, wherein said verifying is performed by arequisition object verification module.

The present invention provides a computer system comprising a processorand a computer readable memory unit coupled to the processor, saidmemory unit containing instructions that when executed by the processorimplement a method for verifying a target attribute of a company profilerecord for a procurement application, wherein the procurementapplication supports a requisition transaction among at least two userswho represent respective companies, the method comprising:

configuring a validity attribute of the company profile record toindicate whether the target attribute of the company profile record isvalid, wherein the company profile record is stored in a database,wherein said configuring is performed by a company profile configurationmodule;

subsequent to said configuring, authenticating a user prior to loggingin the user to the procurement application, wherein the user isrepresented by a user profile record stored in the database, wherein theuser profile record comprises the target attribute with a valid instancefor the target attribute, wherein the user profile record comprising aninvalid instance for the target attribute is targeted to be removed fromthe database later by a user profile cleanup program, wherein saidauthenticating is performed by a user profile verification module; and

subsequent to said authenticating, verifying a requisition objectagainst the company profile record for a value of the target attributeof the requisition object that the user attempts to modify andsubsequently prohibiting the user from modifying the requisition objectdetermined to be invalid from said verifying, wherein the requisitionobject is represented by a requisition object record stored in thedatabase, wherein the requisition object record comprises the targetattribute and a validity flag, wherein said verifying is performed by arequisition object verification module.

The present invention provides a process for supporting computerinfrastructure, said process comprising providing at least one supportservice for at least one of creating, integrating, hosting, maintaining,and deploying computer-readable code in a computing system, wherein thecode in combination with the computing system is capable of performing amethod for verifying a target attribute of a company profile record fora procurement application, wherein the procurement application supportsa requisition transaction among at least two users who representrespective companies, the method comprising:

configuring a validity attribute of the company profile record toindicate whether the target attribute of the company profile record isvalid, wherein the company profile record is stored in a database,wherein said configuring is performed by a company profile configurationmodule;

subsequent to said configuring, authenticating a user prior to loggingin the user to the procurement application, wherein the user isrepresented by a user profile record stored in the database, wherein theuser profile record comprises the target attribute with a valid instancefor the target attribute, wherein the user profile record comprising aninvalid instance for the target attribute is targeted to be removed fromthe database later by a user profile cleanup program, wherein saidauthenticating is performed by a user profile verification module; and

subsequent to said authenticating, verifying a requisition objectagainst the company profile record for a value of the target attributeof the requisition object that the user attempts to modify andsubsequently prohibiting the user from modifying the requisition objectdetermined to be invalid from said verifying, wherein the requisitionobject is represented by a requisition object record stored in thedatabase, wherein the requisition object record comprises the targetattribute and a validity flag, wherein said verifying is performed by arequisition object verification module.

The present invention provides a method and system that overcomes atleast one of the current disadvantages of conventional method and systemfor enhancing an existing procurement application with a verification ofa record used in the procurement application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional procurement system comprising aprocurement application and an application database.

FIG. 2 illustrates a company verification system for verifying acompany_code attribute for a procurement application, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting a method for the company profileconfiguration module of the company verification system in FIG. 2, inaccordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting a method for the user profileverification module of the company verification system in FIG. 2, inaccordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting a method for the requisition objectverification module of the company verification system in FIG. 2, inaccordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the user profile cleanup program of thecompany verification system in FIG. 2, in accordance with theembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a computer system used for verifying a company_codeattribute for a procurement application, in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The method of the present invention enhances a procurement applicationby verifying an attribute of a record that is desired to be valid in theprocurement application.

The method of the present invention standardizes a software upgradeprocess for a procurement application to compensate for an obsoletecompany associated with user profile records, rather than redesigningthe procurement application. The method of the present invention isapplicable to any attribute of records that is desired to be valid inorder to properly execute a procurement application.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional procurement system 10 comprising aprocurement application 20 and an application database 30, wherein theapplication database 30 comprises company profile records 31, userprofile records 32, and requisition object records 33.

The procurement application 20 is an electronic business solutionproviding purchase and/or sale of products and/or services throughnetworking systems among participating parties. The procurementapplication 20 typically provides all transactional functionalities.Examples of transactions may be, inter alia, resource planning,maintenance, oversight, approval, accounting, etc. Examples ofprocurement applications may be, inter alia, the IBM Buy on Demand(BonD), Ariba®, the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (SAP ERP), the SAPSupplier Relationship Management application (SAP SRM), etc.

The procurement application 20 comprises a business object 21 thatrepresents a business transaction that takes place through theprocurement application 20. The business object 21 has a company_codeattribute to relate the business object to a company participating inthe business transaction that is represented by the business object 21.The business object 21 is typically implemented as a class within theprocurement application, and stored in the application database 30 as abusiness object record 33.

The company may be, inter alia, a customer, a product supplier, aservice provider, etc. The procurement application 20 employs theapplication database 30 for records of the procurement application 20.Examples of the application database 30 may be, inter alia, acustom-designed procurement database, IBM DB2, Oracle®, MySQL®, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates a company verification system 100 for verifying acompany_code attribute for a procurement application 400, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

The company verification system 100 comprises a company profileconfiguration module 200, a user verification module 300, theprocurement application 400, a requisition verification module 500, auser profile cleanup program 700, and the application database 800. Theapplication database 800 comprises a company profile record 810, a userprofile record 820, and a requisition business object record 830. Thecompany profile record 810 comprises a company_code attribute that is atarget attribute to be verified, and a company_valid attribute that is avalidity attribute that marks whether the target attribute is valid ornot. The user profile record 820 comprises a company_code attribute thatis a target attribute. The requisition object record 830 comprises acompany_code attribute that is a target attribute and company_valid flagthat marks whether the target attribute is valid or not.

The company_valid attribute is inserted into the company profile record810 when the company_code attribute of the company profile record 810 isdesired to be verified for the procurement application 400. Thecompany_code attribute of the company profile record 810 is a targetattribute that is desired to be verified. The company_valid attribute isa validity attribute that indicates whether the company profile record810 has a legitimate and up-to-date instance for the company_codeattribute of the company profile record 810.

An application administrator 110 configures the company profile record810 through the company profile configuration module 200, afterinserting the company_valid attribute into the company profile record810. The company_valid attribute of the company profile record 810 has abinary value indicating that the company_code attribute of the companyprofile record 810 is either valid or invalid. The company_validattribute of the company profile record 810 is initialized as valid uponcreation.

When a user 130 attempts to log in to the procurement application 400,the user profile verification module 300 verifies the user profilerecord 820 of the user 130 against the company profile record 810. Theuser 130 with a valid instance for the company_code attribute of theuser profile record 820 successfully logs in to the procurementapplication 400 and proceeds with creating a requisition object record830 for a business transaction.

The requisition object record 830 represents a requisition transactionthat the user 130 has created within the procurement application 400.The company_valid flag of the requisition object record 830 indicateswhether the company_code attribute of the requisition object record 830is instantiated with a valid value that is available in the companyprofile record 810 in the application database 800.

When the user 130 attempts to modify the requisition object record 830,a requisition object verification module 500 verifies the requisitionobject record 830 against the company profile record 810.

The database cleanup program 700 cleans up the user profile record 820that has an invalid instance for the company_code attribute of the userprofile record 820. The database cleanup program 700 may be performedwith a command of a system and/or database administrator 120 or may beperiodically performed by a scheduler of an operating system on whichthe application database 800 is implemented.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting a method for the company profileconfiguration module 200 of the company verification system 100 in FIG.2, in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

Initially, company profile records stored in the application databasecomprise the company_code attribute. The company_code attribute is atarget attribute that is desired to be valid for the procurementapplication. Thus, a database administrator inserts a new attribute tomark the validity of the target attribute, which is the company_validattribute, into the company profile record. The company_valid attributeis initially set as valid by the database administrator at the time whenthe company_valid attribute is created or by an applicationadministrator after the company_valid attribute is created within thecompany profile records.

In step 201, the company profile configuration module displays a userinterface for the application administrator to enable configuringcompany profile records that are stored in the application database. Theuser interface enables the application administrator to input values forcompany profile records.

In step 202, the company profile configuration module prompts theapplication administrator to input a value for the company_codeattribute.

In step 203, the company profile configuration module receives the valuefor the company_code attribute from the application administrator.

In step 204, the company profile configuration module retrieves anddisplays content of a company profile record that has a same value forthe company_code attribute to enable the application administrator toedit values for the company profile record.

In step 205, the company profile configuration module receives avalidity value, which is valid or invalid, for the company_validattribute from an input of the application administrator. The validityvalue is predefined as a pair of values indicating valid or invalid, asin YES/NO, 1/0, etc.

In step 206, the company profile configuration module stores the companyprofile record back to the application database with the validity valuefor the company_valid attribute received in step 205.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting a method for the user profileverification module 300 of the company verification system 100 in FIG.2, in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

When a user profile record is created by a new user who is logging in tothe procurement application, the user profile record comprises a samecompany_code attribute as is comprised by a company profile record, andthe company_code attribute of the user profile record is assigned to avalue in the company_code attribute of a company profile record in theapplication database.

In step 301, the user profile verification module queries the companyprofile record in the application database with a value for thecompany_code attribute in the user profile record of the user whoattempts to log in to the procurement application.

In step 302, the user profile verification module determines whether theuser profile record has a valid value for the company_code attribute. Ifthe user profile verification module determines that the user profilerecord does not have a valid value for the company_code attribute, theuser profile verification module proceeds with step 303. If the userprofile verification module determines that the user profile record hasa valid value for the company_code attribute, the user profileverification module terminates because the user profile record issuitable for the procurement application to use in business transactionsinvolving the user represented by the user profile record.

In step 303, the user profile verification module displays the userprofile record for the user with an invalid value for the company_codeattribute.

In step 304, the user profile verification module instantiates thecompany_code attribute of the user profile record with a validcompany_code values available in the company profile record. Whenmultiple values are available for the company_code, the user profileverification module displays a list of available company_code values andprompts the user to select one for the user profile record out of thelist of available company_code values.

In step 305, the user profile verification module prompts the user toinput a company_code value for the company_code attribute of the userprofile record.

In step 306, the user profile verification module receives acompany_code value from the user for the company_code attribute.

In step 307, the user profile verification module receives “save userprofile command” from the user.

In step 308, the user profile verification module determines whether acompany_code attribute is selected by the user. If the user profileverification module determines that a company_code attribute is properlyselected, the user profile verification module proceeds with step 309.If the user profile verification module determines that a company_codeattribute is not properly selected, the user profile verification moduleproceeds with step 310.

In step 309, the user profile verification module stores the userprofile to the user profile record of the application database.

In step 310, the user profile verification module informs the user tochoose a valid company_code, and loops back to step 306.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting a method for the requisition objectverification module 500 of the company verification system 100 in FIG.2, in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

A requisition object is created by a user to represent a requisitionthat the user intends to perform. The requisition object inheritsinstances for common attributes from the user profile record thatrepresents the user who creates the requisition object. Because only auser with valid company_code can create a requisition object, a valuefor the company_code attribute of the requisition object is initiallyvalid.

The requisition object needs to be verified when the user attempts tomodify the requisition object within the procurement applicationbecause, during the modification, the user may use an invalid value fora second company_code attribute representing a partner company in thetransaction.

The validity flag of the requisition object marks the requisition objectas valid or not. Thus, after the requisition object verification moduleis performed, it is guaranteed that the requisition object is validwithin the procurement application.

In step 501, the requisition object verification module queries thecompany profile database record to identify all valid values for thecompany_code available for the requisition object.

In step 502, the requisition object verification module instantiates thevalidity flag of the requisition object with the company_valid attributeof the company profile record stored in the application database.

In step 503, the requisition object verification module determineswhether the requisition object has a valid value for the company_codeattribute as being indicated by a predefined valid value for thevalidity flag. If the requisition object verification module determinesthat the requisition object has a predefined valid value for thevalidity flag, the requisition object verification module proceeds tostep 504. If the requisition object verification module determines thatthe requisition object has a predefined invalid value for the validityflag, the requisition object verification module proceeds to step 505.

In step 504, the requisition object verification module continuesmodifying the requisition object through a user interface because therequisition object verified as having a valid value for the company_codeattribute.

In step 505, the requisition object verification module displays anerror message to the user notifying that the requisition object has aninvalid value for the company_code attribute and the requisition objectcannot be modified.

In step 506, the requisition object verification module prompts for usercommand to stop modifying the requisition object.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the user profile cleanup program 700 ofthe company verification system 100 in FIG. 2, in accordance with theembodiments of the present invention.

The user profile cleanup program deletes user profile records that havean invalid value for the company_code attribute to ensure that a userwithout valid value for the company_code attribute in the user profilerecord is prohibited from logging in to the procurement application andfrom creating and/or modifying a requisition object. The user profilecleanup program is executed by a database administrator or by ascheduler of an operating system on which the user profile cleanupprogram is performed.

The user profile cleanup program checks the company profile recordstored in the application database and identifies all invalid values forthe company_code attribute. If the user profile cleanup program is ableto identify any invalid value for the company_code attribute, the userprofile cleanup program removes user profile records that haveidentified invalid values for the company_code attribute from theapplication database. If the user profile cleanup program cannotidentify any invalid value for the company_code attribute, the userprofile cleanup program terminates because all user profile records havevalid values for the company_code attribute and proper for usage in theprocurement application.

In this embodiment, the user profile cleanup program is a UNIX® shellscript called “delete_invalid_profiles.sh” 710 that is executed by acommand 750 invoking the UNIX® shell script “delete_invalid_profiles.sh”710 provided on a system prompt with four arguments, wherein a firstargument is “proc,” a second argument is “temployee_profile,” a thirdargument is “chrg_co_cd,” and a fourth argument is “‘ABC’, ‘DEF’,‘GHI’.”

In line 711, the user profile cleanup program sets a value of the firstargument, “proc,” provided in the command line command to “db_name” thatindicates a name of the application database.

In line 712, the user profile cleanup program sets the second argument,“temployee_profile,” provided in the command line command to “db_table”that indicates a name of the record in the “db_name” applicationdatabase.

In line 713, the user profile cleanup program sets the third argument,“chrg_co_cd,” provided in the command line command to “column_name” thatindicates an attribute of the “db_table” record in the “db_name”application database.

In line 714, the user profile cleanup program sets the fourth argument,“‘ABC’, ‘DEF’, ‘GHI’,” provided in the command line command to “values”that indicates at least one value for the “column_name” attribute of the“db_table” record in the “db_name” application database.

In line 715, the user profile cleanup program deletes “db_table” recordsfrom “db_name” application database if a “db_table” record has a valuefrom a group consisting of “values” for the “column_name” attribute ofthe “db_table” record. In this embodiment, the user profile cleanupprogram deletes any temployee_profile record from proc applicationdatabase if chrg_co_cd column of temployee_profile record has a value‘ABC’, ‘DEF’, or ‘GHI.’

FIG. 7 illustrates a computer system 90 used for verifying acompany_code attribute for a procurement application, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

The computer system 90 comprises a processor 91, an input device 92coupled to the processor 91, an output device 93 coupled to theprocessor 91, and memory devices 94 and 95 each coupled to the processor91. The input device 92 may be, inter alia, a keyboard, a mouse, akeypad, a touchscreen, a voice recognition device, a sensor, a networkinterface card (NIC), a Voice/video over Internet Protocol (VoIP)adapter, a wireless adapter, a telephone adapter, a dedicated circuitadapter, etc. The output device 93 may be, inter alia, a printer, aplotter, a computer screen, a magnetic tape, a removable hard disk, afloppy disk, a NIC, a VoIP adapter, a wireless adapter, a telephoneadapter, a dedicated circuit adapter, an audio and/or visual signalgenerator, a light emitting diode (LED), etc. The memory devices 94 and95 may be, inter alia, a cache, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), aread-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, a floppy disk, a magnetic tape, anoptical storage such as a compact disc (CD) or a digital video disc(DVD), etc. The memory device 95 includes a computer code 97 which is acomputer program that comprises computer-executable instructions. Thecomputer code 97 includes, inter alia, an algorithm used for verifying acompany_code attribute for a procurement application according to thepresent invention. The processor 91 executes the computer code 97. Thememory device 94 includes input data 96. The input data 96 includesinput required by the computer code 97. The output device 93 displaysoutput from the computer code 97. Either or both memory devices 94 and95 (or one or more additional memory devices not shown in FIG. 7) may beused as a computer usable medium (or a computer readable medium or aprogram storage device) having a computer readable program embodiedtherein and/or having other data stored therein, wherein the computerreadable program comprises the computer code 97. Generally, a computerprogram product (or, alternatively, an article of manufacture) of thecomputer system 90 may comprise said computer usable medium (or saidprogram storage device).

Any of the components of the present invention can be deployed, managed,serviced, etc. by a service provider that offers to deploy or integratecomputing infrastructure with respect to a process for verifying acompany_code attribute for a procurement application of the presentinvention. Thus, the present invention discloses a process forsupporting computer infrastructure, comprising integrating, hosting,maintaining and deploying computer-readable code into a computing system(e.g., computing system 90), wherein the code in combination with thecomputing system is capable of performing a method for verifying acompany_code attribute for a procurement application

In another embodiment, the invention provides a business method thatperforms the process steps of the invention on a subscription,advertising and/or fee basis. That is, a service provider, such as aSolution Integrator, can offer to create, maintain, support, etc. aprocess for verifying a company_code attribute for a procurementapplication of the present invention. In this case, the service providercan create, maintain, support, etc. a computer infrastructure thatperforms the process steps of the invention for one or more customers.In return, the service provider can receive payment from the customer(s)under a subscription and/or fee agreement, and/or the service providercan receive payment from the sale of advertising content to one or morethird parties.

While FIG. 7 shows the computer system 90 as a particular configurationof hardware and software, any configuration of hardware and software, aswould be known to a person of ordinary skill in the art, may be utilizedfor the purposes stated supra in conjunction with the particularcomputer system 90 of FIG. 7. For example, the memory devices 94 and 95may be portions of a single memory device rather than separate memorydevices.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed herein for purposes of illustration, many modifications andchanges will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly,the appended claims are intended to encompass all such modifications andchanges as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

1. A method for verifying a target attribute of a company profile recordfor a procurement application, wherein the procurement applicationsupports a requisition transaction among at least two users whorepresent respective companies, the method comprising: configuring avalidity attribute of the company profile record to indicate whether thetarget attribute of the company profile record is valid, wherein thecompany profile record is stored in a database, wherein said configuringis performed by a company profile configuration module; subsequent tosaid configuring, authenticating a user prior to logging in the user tothe procurement application, wherein the user is represented by a userprofile record stored in the database, wherein the user profile recordcomprises the target attribute with a valid instance for the targetattribute, wherein the user profile record comprising an invalidinstance for the target attribute is targeted to be removed from thedatabase later by a user profile cleanup program, wherein saidauthenticating is performed by a user profile verification module; andsubsequent to said authenticating, verifying a requisition objectagainst the company profile record for a value of the target attributeof the requisition object that the user attempts to modify andsubsequently prohibiting the user from modifying the requisition objectdetermined to be invalid from said verifying, wherein the requisitionobject is represented by a requisition object record stored in thedatabase, wherein the requisition object record comprises the targetattribute and a validity flag, wherein said verifying is performed by arequisition object verification module.
 2. The method of claim 1, saidconfiguring the validity attribute of the company profile recordcomprising: displaying the company profile record via a user interface,wherein the user interface comprises a prompt to receive a target valuefor the target attribute and a prompt to receive a validity value forthe validity attribute; subsequent to said displaying, receiving thetarget value from the user; subsequent to said receiving the targetvalue, re-displaying the company profile record, wherein the targetattribute of the company profile record has the target value from saidreceiving; subsequent to said re-displaying, receiving a validity valuefrom the user; and subsequent to said receiving the validity value,saving to the database the company profile record comprising the targetattribute set to the target value and the validity attribute set to thevalidity value.
 3. The method of claim 1, said authenticating the usercomprising: querying a first value for the target attribute of the userprofile record against at least one valid target instance for the targetattribute of the company profile record, wherein the validity attributeof the company profile record has a predefined valid value when thecompany profile record comprises a valid target instance from said atleast one valid target instance for the target attribute; subsequent tosaid querying, determining that the first value for the target attributeof the user profile record is invalid; subsequent to said determining,displaying the user profile records to the user to enable the user tochoose a second value for the target attribute of the company profilerecord, wherein the second value is selected from said at least onevalid target instance; subsequent to said displaying, receiving thesecond value for the target attribute of the user profile record; andsubsequent to said receiving, storing the user profile record to thedatabase with the second value for the target attribute.
 4. The methodof claim 1, said verifying the requisition object comprising: querying afirst value for the target attribute of the requisition object recordagainst valid target instances for the target attribute of the companyprofile record; sub sequent to said querying, setting the validity flagof the requisition object record to a value for the validity attributeof the company profile record; subsequent to said setting, determiningthat the requisition object record is valid; subsequent to saiddetermining, enabling the user to modify the requisition object record;and subsequent to said enabling, storing the requisition object recordto database.
 5. The method of claim 1, said verifying the requisitionobject comprising: querying a first value for the target attribute ofthe requisition object record against valid target instances for thetarget attribute of the company profile record; sub sequent to saidquerying, setting the validity flag of the requisition object record toa value for the validity attribute of the company profile record;subsequent to said setting, determining that the requisition objectrecord is invalid; subsequent to said determining, displaying an errormessage that notifies the user that the requisition object record isinvalid; and subsequent to said displaying, prompting the user toterminate modifying the requisition object record.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the target attribute is a company_code attribute,wherein the validity attribute is a company_valid attribute.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the user profile cleanup program comprises:identifying a first value for the target attribute of the companyprofile record that has a negative value for the validity attribute ofthe company profile record from the database; and subsequent to saididentifying, deleting the user profile record that has the first valuefor the target attribute of the user profile record from the database.8. A computer program product, comprising a computer usable storagemedium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, saidcomputer readable program code containing instructions that whenexecuted by a processor of a computer system implement a method forverifying a target attribute of a company profile record for aprocurement application, wherein the procurement application supports arequisition transaction among at least two users who representrespective companies, the method comprising: configuring a validityattribute of the company profile record to indicate whether the targetattribute of the company profile record is valid, wherein the companyprofile record is stored in a database, wherein said configuring isperformed by a company profile configuration module; subsequent to saidconfiguring, authenticating a user prior to logging in the user to theprocurement application, wherein the user is represented by a userprofile record stored in the database, wherein the user profile recordcomprises the target attribute with a valid instance for the targetattribute, wherein the user profile record comprising an invalidinstance for the target attribute is targeted to be removed from thedatabase later by a user profile cleanup program, wherein saidauthenticating is performed by a user profile verification module; andsubsequent to said authenticating, verifying a requisition objectagainst the company profile record for a value of the target attributeof the requisition object that the user attempts to modify andsubsequently prohibiting the user from modifying the requisition objectdetermined to be invalid from said verifying, wherein the requisitionobject is represented by a requisition object record stored in thedatabase, wherein the requisition object record comprises the targetattribute and a validity flag, wherein said verifying is performed by arequisition object verification module.
 9. The computer program productof claim 8, said configuring the validity attribute of the companyprofile record comprising: displaying the company profile record via auser interface, wherein the user interface comprises a prompt to receivea target value for the target attribute and a prompt to receive avalidity value for the validity attribute; subsequent to saiddisplaying, receiving the target value from the user; subsequent to saidreceiving the target value, re-displaying the company profile record,wherein the target attribute of the company profile record has thetarget value from said receiving; subsequent to said re-displaying,receiving a validity value from the user; and subsequent to saidreceiving the validity value, saving to the database the company profilerecord comprising the target attribute set to the target value and thevalidity attribute set to the validity value.
 10. The computer programproduct of claim 8, said authenticating the user comprising: querying afirst value for the target attribute of the user profile record againstat least one valid target instance for the target attribute of thecompany profile record, wherein the validity attribute of the companyprofile record has a predefined valid value when the company profilerecord comprises a valid target instance from said at least one validtarget instance for the target attribute; subsequent to said querying,determining that the first value for the target attribute of the userprofile record is invalid; subsequent to said determining, displayingthe user profile records to the user to enable the user to choose asecond value for the target attribute of the company profile record,wherein the second value is selected from said at least one valid targetinstance; subsequent to said displaying, receiving the second value forthe target attribute of the user profile record; and subsequent to saidreceiving, storing the user profile record to the database with thesecond value for the target attribute.
 11. The computer program productof claim 8, said verifying the requisition object comprising: querying afirst value for the target attribute of the requisition object recordagainst valid target instances for the target attribute of the companyprofile record; subsequent to said querying, setting the validity flagof the requisition object record to a value for the validity attributeof the company profile record; subsequent to said setting, determiningthat the requisition object record is valid; subsequent to saiddetermining, enabling the user to modify the requisition object record;and subsequent to said enabling, storing the requisition object recordto database.
 12. The computer program product of claim 8, said verifyingthe requisition object comprising: querying a first value for the targetattribute of the requisition object record against valid targetinstances for the target attribute of the company profile record;subsequent to said querying, setting the validity flag of therequisition object record to a value for the validity attribute of thecompany profile record; subsequent to said setting, determining that therequisition object record is invalid; subsequent to said determining,displaying an error message that notifies the user that the requisitionobject record is invalid; and subsequent to said displaying, promptingthe user to terminate modifying the requisition object record.
 13. Thecomputer program product of claim 8, wherein the target attribute is acompany_code attribute, wherein the validity attribute is acompany_valid attribute.
 14. The computer program product of claim 8,wherein the user profile cleanup program comprises: identifying a firstvalue for the target attribute of the company profile record that has anegative value for the validity attribute of the company profile recordfrom the database; and subsequent to said identifying, deleting the userprofile record that has the first value for the target attribute of theuser profile record from the database.
 15. A computer system comprisinga processor and a computer readable memory unit coupled to theprocessor, said memory unit containing instructions that when executedby the processor implement a method for verifying a target attribute ofa company profile record for a procurement application, wherein theprocurement application supports a requisition transaction among atleast two users who represent respective companies, the methodcomprising: configuring a validity attribute of the company profilerecord to indicate whether the target attribute of the company profilerecord is valid, wherein the company profile record is stored in adatabase, wherein said configuring is performed by a company profileconfiguration module; subsequent to said configuring, authenticating auser prior to logging in the user to the procurement application,wherein the user is represented by a user profile record stored in thedatabase, wherein the user profile record comprises the target attributewith a valid instance for the target attribute, wherein the user profilerecord comprising an invalid instance for the target attribute istargeted to be removed from the database later by a user profile cleanupprogram, wherein said authenticating is performed by a user profileverification module; and subsequent to said authenticating, verifying arequisition object against the company profile record for a value of thetarget attribute of the requisition object that the user attempts tomodify and subsequently prohibiting the user from modifying therequisition object determined to be invalid from said verifying, whereinthe requisition object is represented by a requisition object recordstored in the database, wherein the requisition object record comprisesthe target attribute and a validity flag, wherein said verifying isperformed by a requisition object verification module.
 16. The computersystem of claim 15, said configuring the validity attribute of thecompany profile record comprising: displaying the company profile recordvia a user interface, wherein the user interface comprises a prompt toreceive a target value for the target attribute and a prompt to receivea validity value for the validity attribute; subsequent to saiddisplaying, receiving the target value from the user; subsequent to saidreceiving the target value, re-displaying the company profile record,wherein the target attribute of the company profile record has thetarget value from said receiving; subsequent to said re-displaying,receiving a validity value from the user; and subsequent to saidreceiving the validity value, saving to the database the company profilerecord comprising the target attribute set to the target value and thevalidity attribute set to the validity value.
 17. The computer system ofclaim 15, said authenticating the user comprising: querying a firstvalue for the target attribute of the user profile record against atleast one valid target instance for the target attribute of the companyprofile record, wherein the validity attribute of the company profilerecord has a predefined valid value when the company profile recordcomprises a valid target instance from said at least one valid targetinstance for the target attribute; subsequent to said querying,determining that the first value for the target attribute of the userprofile record is invalid; subsequent to said determining, displayingthe user profile records to the user to enable the user to choose asecond value for the target attribute of the company profile record,wherein the second value is selected from said at least one valid targetinstance; subsequent to said displaying, receiving the second value forthe target attribute of the user profile record; and subsequent to saidreceiving, storing the user profile record to the database with thesecond value for the target attribute.
 18. The computer system of claim15, said verifying the requisition object comprising: querying a firstvalue for the target attribute of the requisition object record againstvalid target instances for the target attribute of the company profilerecord; subsequent to said querying, setting the validity flag of therequisition object record to a value for the validity attribute of thecompany profile record; subsequent to said setting, determining that therequisition object record is valid; subsequent to said determining,enabling the user to modify the requisition object record; andsubsequent to said enabling, storing the requisition object record todatabase.
 19. The computer system of claim 15, said verifying therequisition object comprising: querying a first value for the targetattribute of the requisition object record against valid targetinstances for the target attribute of the company profile record;subsequent to said querying, setting the validity flag of therequisition object record to a value for the validity attribute of thecompany profile record; subsequent to said setting, determining that therequisition object record is invalid; subsequent to said determining,displaying an error message that notifies the user that the requisitionobject record is invalid; and subsequent to said displaying, promptingthe user to terminate modifying the requisition object record.
 20. Aprocess for supporting computer infrastructure, said process comprisingproviding at least one support service for at least one of creating,integrating, hosting, maintaining, and deploying computer-readable codein a computing system, wherein the code in combination with thecomputing system is capable of performing a method for verifying atarget attribute of a company profile record for a procurementapplication, wherein the procurement application supports a requisitiontransaction among at least two users who represent respective companies,the method comprising: configuring a validity attribute of the companyprofile record to indicate whether the target attribute of the companyprofile record is valid, wherein the company profile record is stored ina database, wherein said configuring is performed by a company profileconfiguration module; subsequent to said configuring, authenticating auser prior to logging in the user to the procurement application,wherein the user is represented by a user profile record stored in thedatabase, wherein the user profile record comprises the target attributewith a valid instance for the target attribute, wherein the user profilerecord comprising an invalid instance for the target attribute istargeted to be removed from the database later by a user profile cleanupprogram, wherein said authenticating is performed by a user profileverification module; and subsequent to said authenticating, verifying arequisition object against the company profile record for a value of thetarget attribute of the requisition object that the user attempts tomodify and subsequently prohibiting the user from modifying therequisition object determined to be invalid from said verifying, whereinthe requisition object is represented by a requisition object recordstored in the database, wherein the requisition object record comprisesthe target attribute and a validity flag, wherein said verifying isperformed by a requisition object verification module.
 21. The processof claim 20, said configuring the validity attribute of the companyprofile record comprising: displaying the company profile record via auser interface, wherein the user interface comprises a prompt to receivea target value for the target attribute and a prompt to receive avalidity value for the validity attribute; subsequent to saiddisplaying, receiving the target value from the user; subsequent to saidreceiving the target value, re-displaying the company profile record,wherein the target attribute of the company profile record has thetarget value from said receiving; subsequent to said re-displaying,receiving a validity value from the user; and subsequent to saidreceiving the validity value, saving to the database the company profilerecord comprising the target attribute set to the target value and thevalidity attribute set to the validity value.
 22. The process of claim20, said authenticating the user comprising: querying a first value forthe target attribute of the user profile record against at least onevalid target instance for the target attribute of the company profilerecord, wherein the validity attribute of the company profile record hasa predefined valid value when the company profile record comprises avalid target instance from said at least one valid target instance forthe target attribute; subsequent to said querying, determining that thefirst value for the target attribute of the user profile record isinvalid; subsequent to said determining, displaying the user profilerecords to the user to enable the user to choose a second value for thetarget attribute of the company profile record, wherein the second valueis selected from said at least one valid target instance; subsequent tosaid displaying, receiving the second value for the target attribute ofthe user profile record; and subsequent to said receiving, storing theuser profile record to the database with the second value for the targetattribute.
 23. The process of claim 20, said verifying the requisitionobject comprising: querying a first value for the target attribute ofthe requisition object record against valid target instances for thetarget attribute of the company profile record; subsequent to saidquerying, setting the validity flag of the requisition object record toa value for the validity attribute of the company profile record;subsequent to said setting, determining that the requisition objectrecord is valid; subsequent to said determining, enabling the user tomodify the requisition object record; and subsequent to said enabling,storing the requisition object record to database.
 24. The process ofclaim 20, said verifying the requisition object comprising: querying afirst value for the target attribute of the requisition object recordagainst valid target instances for the target attribute of the companyprofile record; subsequent to said querying, setting the validity flagof the requisition object record to a value for the validity attributeof the company profile record; subsequent to said setting, determiningthat the requisition object record is invalid; subsequent to saiddetermining, displaying an error message that notifies the user that therequisition object record is invalid; and subsequent to said displaying,prompting the user to terminate modifying the requisition object record.